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Radical AfD Political Party Could Disrupt German Elections

ByBenzinga
AuthorBenzinga
Published 05/22/2013, 08:49 AM
Updated 05/14/2017, 06:45 AM

The euro traded steadily at $1.2931 on Wednesday morning as investors kept their attention turned to the US, where Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will address Congress and release the Federal Open Market Committee's policy meeting minutes.

The greenback fell against the euro for three consecutive days as investors speculated that the Fed would start to taper off its aggressive bond buying stimulus efforts.

In the eurozone financial markets seem to be stabilizing, but the economy is still plagued by high unemployment and borrowing costs which have pushed the block into the deepest recession since it was created in 1999.

The ongoing hardship has taken a toll on the region's morale, and several radical political parties have gained support from voters who are fed up with the current situation.

Once such party, known as the Alternative for Germany, is pushing for a eurozone break up on the grounds that members of the euro from the south, like Greece and Spain, will never return to economic health unless they exit the currency.

The party's leader Bernd Lucke told Bloomberg reporters that the Southern European nations are being smothered by the euro's competitive pressure. His party supports their exit from the currency, and believes that eventually Germany should exit as well.

Although the party has only attracted between two and 3.5 percent of the voters' support in the polls, some worry that it could gain the 5 percent needed to win seats in parliament before the September 22nd election. In any case, the party's growing support is likely take away from Angela Merkel's votes and could disrupt German elections.

BY Laura Brodbeck

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